Markiewicz gains No. 100 with ease

Shortchanged in books, Arundel coach reached milestone last season

High Schools

Arundel High football coach Chuck Markiewicz missed out on a celebration last season, a celebration that was being planned for this week.

Nearly everyone, including Markiewicz, thought he started this season with 96 career wins and would be going for No. 100 on Friday at Northeast.

But it turned out Markiewicz recorded his 100th win last season in a 39-0 victory over Northeast. He is now 106-77 in his 18 seasons as a head coach, the past four at his alma mater, Arundel.

"The kids told me they were going to throw a bucket of water on me this Friday if we win at Northeast, and I told them they better not," said Markiewicz, whose No. 12 Wildcats are 3-1. "Now, they don't have to."

The mix-up occurred when a publication failed to include his 7-3 season at North County in 1999 in his career record, an oversight that has been repeated each season.

Markiewicz said he didn't catch the error himself because he has not been paying close attention to his record.

He now officially becomes the ninth coach in the history of Anne Arundel County high school football to win at least 100 games. He and Broadneck's Jeff Herrick, who is a friend and former teammate at Arundel, are the only two who are active.

"I'm glad we got it straightened out and now if that Herrick would break a leg, maybe I can catch him," said Markiewicz. Herrick's career record is 109-55.

And what do belated congratulations over 100 wins mean to Markiewicz?

"It means a lot of hard work by a lot of guys [assistant coaches] and kids," said Markiewicz, who coached one season at Chesapeake-Anne Arundel in 1983, two at Meade (1988-89) and 11 at North County (1990-2000) before coming to Arundel in 2001.

"I've been fortunate to have a lot of good coaches with me, and I've enjoyed doing it. It's a lot of work, but fun."